The Fashion Club Dynamic
The Fashion Club Dynamic involves all of the members of the club as seen on Daria and gives possible outcomes to the inherent conflict present within the club. Before considering possible outcomes, it is necessary to define the characteristics of each member for use in the outcome scenarios.
Sandi -- She is characterized as being power hungry and wary of any outsiders that may be deemed a threat to her power. She is also willing to be manipulative to remain the most popular at all costs. She is also fairly insecure and would place more weight on perceived threats than they deserve.
Quinn -- Quinn is the main "threat" to Sandi. She has been willing to publicly (meaning out loud) disagree with Sandi but up to this point she has always retracted her dissent. She is also willing to be manipulative but seems to have more of a conscience about it.
Tiffany -- She is the quintessential yes-man. She has been seen to kiss the ass of any authority present or of whoever seems to hold more power at the moment (Sandi or Quinn).
Stacy -- Stacy is a definite follower. She seems to be the most innocent of the bunch. She is more inclined to be friendly to Quinn, since she has shown a distinct fear of Sandi.
Based on the above characterizations, it is assumed that Sandi and Quinn are the higher ranking "officers" of the club. Along those lines, it is well known that there is a great amount of tension between them and it appears that at some point there may be a major occurrence that upsets the current balance in the clubs. At this point five possible outcomes of this major occurrence are offered.
Scenario #1, Ousting the Competition -- Quinn does something offensive to the rest of the club and is permanently exiled by Sandi into fashion limbo. The transgression may not even be of significance but is used to get rid of Quinn and any threat she may pose. This situation has arisen before (notably in Quinn the Brain and Depth Takes a Holiday) but has never resulted in Quinn being permanently ostracized.
Scenario #2, The Coup -- This is similar to the first scenario, except that Sandi is deposed as Fashion Club president and Quinn takes her place. This could be a reaction by the rest of the club to Sandi trying to get rid of Quinn or it can come in a more organized fashion (pardon the pun). Most likely, Stacy would have to grow a backbone and actively support Quinn for this to happen.
Scenario #3, The Civil War -- Quinn may outright challenge Sandi as a response to all of the abuse she receives from her. This could result in a rift that in effect would split the club in half. Sandi and Tiffany would remain the Fashion Club and Quinn and Stacy would at least rescind their membership (Stacy is more likely to side with Quinn, based upon events of the series). The resulting "cold war" could send shivers down the spines of even the toughest soldiers.
Scenario #4, The Cat Fight -- The tension between Quinn and Sandi could escalate into physical violence, with the "winner" taking over control.
Scenario #5, Status Quo -- Nothing may happen and the current situation propagates.
Scenarios five, one and two seem to be the most likely. Five, because that has been the outcome up to this point. One, because Sandi has tried to do this in the past. Two, because Quinn does seem to be fed up with the operation of the club. Scenario four is included because in situations like this, there is always a chance of physical violence. Scenario three is wishful thinking on my part in that this is what I would like to see happen because it may be most beneficial for all concerned parties.
This is by no means meant to explore every detail of the interaction between the members. The purpose is to give general terms as to how this situation plays out. Only time will tell if any of the above scenarios will play out.
Copyright © Mike Quinn and Toonscape, Inc., 2000.
Daria and all related characters are © 1997-1999 MTV Networks, Inc.